OttawaThe Crown is asking for a four-year custodial sentence for James Bowie, the Ottawa criminal defence lawyer who in March was found guilty of extortion, uttering death threats and criminal harassment.Lawyer previously found guilty of extortion, uttering death threats and criminal harassmentJoseph Tunney · CBC News · Posted: Jul 28, 2025 5:04 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hour agoIn March of this year, suspended lawyer James Bowie was found guilty of extortion, uttering death threats and criminal harassment. (Ottawa Police Service)The Crown is seeking a four-year custodial sentence for James Bowie, the Ottawa criminal defence lawyer who in March was found guilty of extortion, uttering death threats and criminal harassment.Bowie’s trial revolved around the testimony of two women who detailed a series of abuses at the hands of the lawyer, now suspended by the Law Society of Ontario for his failure to co-operate with its investigations. In late 2022, a woman named Leanne Aubin told reporters Bowie offered her his legal services in exchange for sexual favours.And in March of this year, Ontario Court Justice Paul Cooper found that in Bowie’s attempts to clear his name, he threatened to kill Aubin, tried to get another woman to obtain a gun for him, and harassed the other woman when she tried to ghost him. The judge said Bowie followed the woman’s movements with tracking devices, called her from multiple numbers, watched her house and continued sending her messages after she stopped replying.While Bowie denied the charges against him, he admitted during his testimony that he twice placed a GPS tracker on the woman’s car and used it to follow her.The woman cannot be identified because of a publication ban, but a similar ban on Aubin’s name was lifted at her request. In February, another extortion charge related to Aubin’s sex-for-services allegations was dropped. It came after Aubin’s testimony failed to establish evidence of a direct and expressed threat that Bowie would make an assault charge against her stick if she talked about his proposition.During his decision this past winter, Cooper said inconsistencies in what Aubin told court and the Law Society about the existence of a message outlining the sex-for-services deal were not material, and that other inconsistencies were minor. The judge said Bowie failed to assess that “vulnerability is not a synonym for weakness” and found him guilty. On Monday, the Crown acknowledged that Bowie, 43, has no prior criminal record and has obeyed a strict curfew while out on bail, with no further charges or breaches.But Bowie’s offending was serious, the Crown maintained, as it involved the “deliberate and sustained victimization of women.” “I would submit that Mr Bowie was found guilty of a very dedicated effort to break the law,” said assistant Crown attorney Kerry Watson. “He tried to intervene with a valid complaint process and civil proceedings by threatening and therefore causing fear in his former client.” Defence seeking conditional sentence James Bowie, the suspended Ottawa criminal defence lawyer, walks into the Ottawa courthouse on Monday, July 28, 2025. (Joseph Tunney/CBC)Bowie’s defence lawyer, Eric Granger, argued that a conditional sentence – one served in the community and at least partially under house arrest — would be a more appropriate option than prison. He didn’t suggest a specific duration but conditional sentences generally last a maximum of two years less a day.Bowie’s actions stemmed from a desperate bid for self-preservation, Granger said. “These were the actions of a man who was effectively reaching rock bottom,” Granger said. “Saw his career disappearing on him. Saw everyone in his life disappearing on him.”Granger pointed to the media attention the case has received and Bowie’s loss of career as a lawyer as significant penalties that he will already face, irrespective of sentence.On Monday, Bowie also provided a short statement to Justice Cooper, saying he had made peace with the fact he’d be sentenced.”I want you to know, I have no hard feelings,” Bowie said.The court also heard victim impact statements from the two women, who outlined the harm of Bowie’s actions and the great fear they still experience.”I believed Mr. Bowie was there to help me,” said Aubin, who previously won a civil case against the suspended lawyer. “What I didn’t know was that the person I had entrusted with my life saw my vulnerability, not as something to protect, but as something to exploit.” “You didn’t just break the law, you broke me,” said the woman whose name is protected under the ban.The Law Society has also made additional allegations against Bowie.Bail revokedAt the end of Monday’s proceedings, Justice Cooper revoked Bowie’s bail.It would be “very cruel” if Bowie was granted bail, due the extortionary nature of his offending, Cooper said.”One can only imagine the disarray in this society if a police officer that had a complaint against them could use their power to extort someone in order to quash that complaint,” he said.Bowie will now remain in custody until he is sentenced in early September.ABOUT THE AUTHORJoseph Tunney is a reporter for CBC News in Ottawa. He can be reached at joe.tunney@cbc.ca
Crown seeking 4 years for suspended lawyer James Bowie
